Hi Tim,
When do you expect the Transit Max Cat 18 to be certified by Verizon? I use Verizon and would like to get this modem. Thanks!
Mike
Hi Mike,
This should be completed by the end of this month, hopefully sooner!
Please note that if you already have an active Verizon SIM card then it will already work today.
Thanks,
Tim
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Tim,
Awesome! Thank you for the update. I do have an active SIM and a CAT 18 is on the way.
Take Care,
Mike
Hi Tim,
Just a quick follow up. We received the MAX 18 and it is up and running on Verizon. No issues so far. We are very pleased with how it is doing to date. Thanks again for your help!
Take care,
Mike
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Hi Tim,
Any update on Verizon Certification?
Thanks,
Matt
Hey Matt,
I am no longer a part of peplink but you can shoot me an email to timatsimdorndotcom and I may be able to help 
Oh, thanks Tim. Not your problem then. Ha.
Anyone from Peplink have the answer on this device being certified? Last I heard it was going to be done by the end of August. Still haven’t had any luck. Verizon will not accept my IMEI to activate a line.
Thanks,
Matt
Hi Matt, sorry for the late reply to you. the device has one last test to complete, and then the test report needs to be approved by Verizon. This is expected to take 2 weeks, but this depends on the final test running smooth.
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Thanks Helen
Hello,
Is you Verizon card still working? What device was your card originally activated on?
I tried my active version SIM card, which was activated on a different device (an iPad) and it worked for about 10-15 minutes and then stopped working. When I called Verizon they said they show that the card is not in an approved device and read me back the IMEI of my CAT18 Max Transit. They told me I could use the sim in the registered device or switch the card to another allowable device. Turns out that they actively monitor IMEI and SIM card matches.
Thank you,
Michael
To build on @Mahousley’s experience: In our test setups we tend to move SIM cards around. Recently we moved one from an iPad to a BR1, and after a bit the connection stopped working,.
Verizon tech support informed me that the transition from a phone/tablet to a “connected device” required a manual intervention by tech support. Which they then proceeded to perform (the subscription allows both kinds of devices on our plans),
The take-away: Verizon keeps track of what category your device belongs to, and (1) checks for SIM card category transitions (which may require manual intervention), and (2) checks for category allowability w.r.t. your plan.
Gone are the days of stealth activations, it seems (at least w.r.t. Verizon).
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Helen,
The following is your response back on 9/3. It appears the MAX Transit CAT 18 is still not certified by Verizon (as of 10/17). Yes, there are work a rounds & my provider has been very helpful in providing assistance. That’s not the point.
Why is this taking so long?
The work around involves hours of time dealing with Verizon techs who have no clue what you are talking about, where as the activation for a Sierra Wireless device was as simple as entering the IMEI # into the ‘CHECK YOUR IMEI #’ screen and the SIM card shows up a day or two later.
We have purchased a 2nd CAT 18 unit to serve as a fall back for our office network assuming (yeah, I know what assume does) Verizon certification would surely be received by now.
As a fallback for our office network, I’m not really interested in ‘a work around’ to Verizon’s or Pepwave’s inability to certify this device.
While I can appreciate that Verizon is probably like the VA, where they look for reasons why things can’t be done, what assurances can you provide me that certification might be forthcoming sometime soon?
Yes, I’m a little frustrated that such an excellent product can not be easily utilized because of some arbitrary certification. Apologies for the rant!
Thank you for your time.
George K.
Hi Matt, sorry for the late reply to you. the device has one last test to complete, and then the test report needs to be approved by Verizon. This is expected to take 2 weeks, but this depends on the final test running smooth.
Following up on this again… haven’t received any updates in months.
mweiss,
If you are inquiring about the Max Transit Cat-18, it’s been certified for use by Verizon for some time.
Perhaps some one at Peplink can provide a status update on the 5G devices.
May I ask a related question. From the above discussion I gather that it will not work to move a sim card from a galaxy note 9 (with a data and hotspot plan) to the CAT 18, as seems to be the go-to procedure for Visible?
doug,
I’ve been using a Max Transit CAT-18 with AT&T & Verizon plans since May, 2020. I have not tired to use any Verizon sim in the CAT-18 that was not a data only (non-voice) plan. While some users may have been successful in doing this, I believe the large majority were not. My take, it will probably not work. At the price point of the Max Transit CAT-18, it seems somewhat foolish to me to try and get by with a cellular plan not designated for this device.
I have commissioned a number of Max Transit Cat-18 devices with applicable plans. All came to life with the default factory settings with no issues.
I’ve been very pleased with it as a full timer (RV) working & traveling. Still using the paddle antennas too.
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nicely articulated. the use case that had my curiosity is that we are part-timers and when I’m in a campsite it would make sense to put my sim card in the CAT 18 because I wouldn’t necessarily need the voice and text. it does intrique me, however, that those who are succesful with Visible plans do this very thing, as described by the most popular pay-for-info site. In the end, I do expect to purchase another line with the BYOD approach, which I suspect will work. it just captured my imagination to play with other ways to skin the cat.
good info re; the paddles! yes I’m out to experiment with that too.
Prior to going full time, I installed a Sierra Wireless CAT-6 modem in my laptop. I used this setup for several years prior to going full time. If I had a decent cellular signal, I could stream video & route it to one of the TV’s out of the HDMI port. I could also stream media from the phone to the TV or tether the phone to the PC or use the phone as a hot spot. It was only after I was a full timer for a few months that I decided I wanted something with a little more capability & functionality.
After a certain dollar amount, I have learned that I had better ask permission to make the purchase as opposed to asking for forgiveness. Happy wife, happy life!
lol for sure. I had a similar experience trying to “get by” especially for part timers. we like to take our media library with us and I’ve tried various solutions for that as well, most noteably the Western Digital My Passport Wirelss Pro, which failed miserably. I finally decided to buck up and put in a full-on NAS with Plex media server! its kind of a hoot. Of course, such as set-up requires an active network in the coach, so I first started with the SURF SOHO. that worked wonderfully but I soon realized it was not as future proof as I had first imagined (i.e. adding a USB modem), so again I decided to buck up and invest in the equipment that would allow me to even work from the trailer (I’m an IT project and portfolio manager). That led me straight to the CAT 18. its discontinued and the new ones are twice the price so I’m jumping on that one with the 5Gstore. I don’t wish to spam this forum but I have started to chronicle my pepwave and Plex adventures here
that is purely a hobby site I don’t sell or promote anything. just telling my story!